"‘Left behind’ in COVID-19 pandemic, informal workers sing for assistance", 27 December 2020

Workers in the informal sector are singing for support, with the release of a song … that says they’ve been ignored during the COVID-19 pandemic and pleads for financial assistance from the government.

The ballad, entitled “No One Left Behind,” describes new challenges for those working in informal jobs that have been ravaged by the pandemic – such as massage parlors, restaurants, karaoke and beer gardens – with an increasing number falling deeper into unsustainable debt.

Produced and released by the Cambodian Food and Service Workers Federation (CFSWF), the song portrays the case of a masseuse in Siem Reap province who was the main provider for her family of 10 until she lost her job when the pandemic caused business across the country to shut down.

“Wealthy employers have prayed to the Lord for help; As for us workers, we have pleaded for assistance, but no one had responded,” the song goes…

“Since the outbreak of COVID-19, workers in the entertainment sector have not received any support from the government, so we composed this song… It is a message, asking the government to establish policies that support effected workers equally,” CFSWF president Ou Tepphallin said.

… Spokesmen for the ministry of labor and the ministry of economy and finance declined to comment on the lack of support for informal workers.

… Laid-off from her job at a massage parlor, Saroeun, 45, must also provide for her daughter, who was among tens of thousands who lost jobs in garment factories after the pandemic shut down global supply chains…